Trunk or Treat 2013

(Updated) The Young Men and Young Women hosted the Sonoma Ranch ward Trunk or Treat on Tuesday, October 29, 2013, at the Helotes building, located at 13153 Iron Horse Way. Set up started at 5:00 pm with dinner at 6:30 pm and activities at 7:15 pm. Here's a map and agenda for the activity:

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

We started a few minutes late, but the food was terrific and the music was tremendous! We had a good variety of activities available, including a popular donut eating booth, face painting, pumpkin bowling, fishing, and more! We ended around 8:45 pm and cleanup went until around 9:30 pm, but everyone seemed to have fun exploring the variety of activities available.

Special thanks to the Moreno family for providing the bounce houses! For information about renting the bounce houses for other activities in the San Antonio area, contact Monica at monicasmoreno@gmail.com.

*****Update*****

What an event! The Hack family added SO much to the night by providing live music. (A shout out to Ethon on drums and Estevon on bass!) One of my favorite outcomes was a Facebook post where one participant reflected on how much fun their family had at the Trunk or Treat and how much positive buzz was generated by others who wanted to hear more about the fun night!

Our conservative count is that around 325 people attended. We saw a lot of friends, neighbors, and visitors. There was food enough, candy enough, and we had a lot of support from the clean-up crew. A special thanks to everyone who contributed to the night. We couldn't have done it without a lot of support!

Warming up and checking sound before the performance. (The bouncer on the right meant business! He almost booted the event planner for getting too close to the stage!)

The band performing.

Dinner. The pavilion was packed!

I didn't get a lot of pictures of the night, but if someone sends more, I'll post them soon. (I'd love to get a picture of the bounce houses, booths, and some costumes.)

Pumpkin Carving

We had a great time carving pumpkins this week. We enjoyed the beautiful weather by holding the activity under the pavilion and everyone seemed to have a good time.

And in case you missed it, may we suggest a new Fall treat...caramel Cheetos. Simply make your favorite caramel and drizzle it over a bowl of Cheetos. You'll have some doubters, but they will quickly jump on the bandwagon. 

      

Two thumbs up!

Golf Merit Badge

Troop 855 had a fun time golfing at Alamo Golf Club on Saturday, September 28, 2013. This entry is about the execution of the course work and some of the fun we had along the way...Scout style!

Top: Drake, Riley, Adam, Bishop Tuft, Joseph, Bro. Dial
Mid: Drake, Riley, Adam, Bro. Thrower, Joseph, Bro. Dial
Bottom: Proving golf is not all serious!

We completed some course work and practice shots on Tuesday, September 24, at the LDS church field in Helotes, TX. It's true that you can learn a lot as a teacher. For example, a ball retriever can be fully extended to make for a tremendously long club (about a .115 iron, I think), golf can be a full contact sport with or without clubs, and ice cream makes everything better!

Bishop Tuft, Brother Dial, and Brother Thrower gathered the 12-13 year old Scouts (Joseph, Adam, Riley, and Drake) at Bob Beard elementary at the wee hour of 8:30 am. With Pioneer-like tenacity, these early birds rolled out to the closest Valero Corner Store, because nothing will amp you up for golf like a soda and a bag of chocolate candy.

We started Saturday with a couple buckets of balls at the range. I was impressed with how quickly each Scout became familiar with their style...some improved from hitting a ball 6 inches to hitting 50+ yards. After a little warm up, we went to the putting green where Bishop suggested a fun game to see who could get the ball closest to the hole. Good times! And the competition remained friendly and fun.

Top Left: Brother Thrower, Top Right: Bishop Tuft
Bottom Left: Brother Dial, Bottom Right: Adam

Top: Riley, Bottom: Drake, Right: Joseph

We completed 9 holes by around 1:00 pm, so the experience took a little longer than expected, but the morning was filled with learning and fun. All the Scouts said they really enjoyed the game, and all of them left better golfers than when they started. Some tried to combine golf with other sports...we saw variations of soccer, hockey, and horseshoes (where "close" counts), and this from Joseph (playback not available on all mobile devices):

With a little packet work and another round of golf, each Scout will complete their Golf Merit Badge and be one step closer to the rank of Eagle. Great job, Scouts! This has been a fun journey. 

Epilogue: Bishop Tuft was clearly the best golfer...this time. After watching the Scouts at work, he may have some stiff competition on his hands very soon!

Epilogue 2: Brother Dial may have broken Newton's Third Law of Motion. He seemed to discover an ability to hit a ball off a tree and make it bounce farther back than his original spot!